Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the 51st Street encampment could have happened anywhere in Yellowknife. It just happens to be in my riding. The encampment started out as a group of folks not being welcomed at various locations prior to staying in this empty lot. To its credit, the GNWT quickly worked to find a location that they own near the downtown core. The solution is far from ideal least of all because the site will soon be an active construction site. I want to take this time to thank the residents of the neighbourhood for being extremely patient and compassionate and providing myself and the Premier with your feedback that created more safety and dignity for everyone. I appreciate that the GNWT looked at how to find spaces for precariously housed residents with NGOs who often knew them and their histories and took the time to get to know each one of these folks and what they need. EIA has just sent an update recently that there are two people that remain and one who visits infrequently.
Mr. Speaker, everyone in Yellowknife is part of our community regardless of their access to housing. Everyone deserves dignity and a safe place to sleep. As we have heard from the Salvation Army in their presentation to standing committee, finding safety is starting to become difficult in Yellowknife shelters. When speaking with the Premier and his staff, he noted that the encampment was a point of urgency in finding solutions discussed in the GNWT's Homelessness Strategy. I'm heartened that Cabinet felt compelled to seek more funding for transitional and supportive housing across the territory when they were in Ottawa last week. But some of what I hear from folks who are involved with, or in some cases were not invited to, the working group that were seeking solutions for the encampment is that the GNWT continues to be cagey about how we are working to expand options in a meaningful, timely way. Many folks are also wondering how we got here when we have known for a long time about the lack of sustainable options and spaces that NGOs can provide.
Mr. Speaker, I'm barely scratching the surface of this issue. I'll note that the point-in-time count of underhoused folks that the city of Yellowknife has conducted this fall is not available yet but will be soon. The city's housing needs assessment interim report points to trends that aren't going away. A continued strain on existing housing stock means more people are a whisper away from precarious housing than we want to admit. I'll have questions for the deputy Premier at the appropriate time. Thank you.
Thank you. I'll go to the Member from the Sahtu.
